Beading in the New Year with Allegory Gallery :: Part 3

 

Welcome to the third and final installment of my journey through Allegory Gallery's Bead in the New Year challenge!  While I didn't manage to complete something for all 31 prompts, I did make respectable progress.  I think I finished 26 or 27 all in all.  A big thanks to Andrew and William at Allegory for hosting this again for 2021.  It's been a great kick start for me!  Now onto my last batch of creations...

Day 21 :: Create a Piece Using only Black and White

Some bold but lightweight black and white resin beads were the inspiration for my black and white designs.  The pair on the left feature some statement German resin teardrops that have an amazing geometric pattern that almost feels like an optical illusion.  They are accented with some really interesting vintage Czech glass that I was gifted by my friend Monica... and the effect is best described as groovy.  The pair on the right adds some silver to the mix but that "reads" white to me.  The top beads are etched resin and the teardrop beads are crystal.  

Day 22 :: Use Vintage Materials to Make Something New

As I turned to this prompt on January 31st, I didn't have a ton of time for anything elaborate... so earrings featuring vintage components seemed like the smartest move.  I picked out a pair of really cool vintage lucite pineapples with a lovely AB finish to them as the main element.  I kept things fairly simple by just stacking a crystal spacer and a Czech glass rondelle in ivory with a Mercury glass finish.  

Day 23 :: Make a Piece Using Seed Beads as the Main Focus

Do peanut beads count as seed beads??  In my world they do.  As I said before, this is my challenge so my rules, lol.  I created a simple memory wire bracelet covered in a lovely peanut bead mix from Rustic River Finds.  I used a little ceramic crescent moon charm from Kylie Parry on one end of the wire bracelet and some Czech glass on the other.

Day 24 :: Challenge Yourself by Using a Color You Don't Normally Use

I'm not sure that there really is a color I don't normally use... but yellow and purple are the colors I probably gravitate towards the least often.  I started toying with the general idea of this necklace for my husband's Honey Do List challenge this month but it didn't come together in time.  But as is often my way, I left all the possible beads sitting out on my mat for me to keep thinking on it and eventually I pulled something together.  The final piece of the puzzle was some sunshine yellow fused glass rounds that came in a recent bead order that were a lovely complement to the folk lark pendant by Summer Wind Art.

Day 25 :: Remake an Old Project into a New One

Remaking old designs is definitely not on my list of favorite things to do so it's not a huge surprise that I didn't get around to completing this prompt.  I did get so far as choosing something to take apart... even took a "before" picture of it.  But then I shared it with some jewelry friends and they all really liked the design making me second guess myself.  LOL.  I ran out of time, daylight, and, honestly, January.  Oh well.  Maybe another day I'll make up my mind.

Day 26 :: Use an Allegory Gallery Wood Pendant

I had several wonderful wooden pendants to choose from, but in the end went with one that lent itself well to me making beaded links.  Again, this was partially a time thing.  Anyway, I loved the unique shape of this flower and leaf pendant.  I added a Czech glass drop with a lovely sheen to the bottom of the pendant and a few links along each side.  Easy and elegant!  

Day 27 :: Repurpose at Least One Non-Jewelry Material in a Piece

Ok, I probably should have tried for something a little more complicated or obviously "non-jewelry" but at least I got something made!  I used some discs that my friend Anna Pierson of Sagahus sent me that she cut from an old storage tin.  I think this cute little pair of earrings would be perfect for Valentines day with the tiny hearts, but they certainly would work anytime you wanted a splash of red!  

Day 28 :: Get Inspired by Geometry in a New Design

This prompt immediately made me think of some fun diamond shaped charms by Diana Ptaszynski that I got a couple of months ago!  The charms are wood that she monoprinted with a gel plate.  The photo doesn't do the colors justice!  I love the mix of orange and lime green with a tiny touch of pink in there.  I love that there's also a hexagonal pattern in the print adding to the geometry theme.  I added some moon glow lucite from Allegory Gallery and some little Czech glass beads to complete the design.  Even though these are long, they are amazingly lightweight!

Day 29 :: Make a Piece With Words as a Main Element

I've had the main elements for this next piece set aside since last August.  This was the perfect time to finally pull it all together!  The wire frame was actually my prototype for a necklace I made for a dear friend's birthday for her husband to gift her.  It was slightly too big for the ceramic bead, but the perfect size for my "Not My Monkey" bead by Diane Hawkey.  "Not my monkeys, not my circus" is a favorite saying of mine that was oft used at my last day job... so this bead was always going to be in a piece for me.  Same with the flying monkey bronze clay pendant by Andrew Thornton.  Breaking out of my monochromatic rut, I added some super bright ?? striped beads into the mix then coordinated some Czech glass beads to round things out.

Day 30 :: Play with Wire as a Focus of a New Piece

While I had planned to do a separate piece for Day 30's prompt, I ran out of time and it just didn't happen.  Seeing as I used my Now-That's-a-Jig to make the wire frame in the piece from day 29, I think it totally counts.  The wire frame may not be the entire focus of the necklace, but it's certainly a large part of it!  Here's a closer look at the pendant.

Day 31 :: Celebrate by Making Something Extra Sparkly

I didn't come anywhere near completing this piece... really, I just barely started it, but I figured I'd give you a sneak peek of where I'm heading.  The lovely snowflake shield cab is by Lisa Peters Russ and I'm plotting out adding some vintage crystal elements above the shield.  At this point, only the cab is glued down, but I plan to get started tomorrow on the beading.

I hope that whatever your creative outlet of choice may be that you too are off to a fulfilling start to your new year!